Inspirational People

I've started a inspiration binder and I can't believe how big the "inspirational people" section is getting. I find an overarching theme of people who really go for it. Who do what they love and put their whole selves into it. These are the people who become icons because they care so much about their art and it shows.



Anna Wintour: She is the editor of Vogue who is often portrayed as cold and demanding. But she knows what she wants and she know's what she hates, "mediocracy". She inspires designers to do their best work and to be original. No matter how hard I am working she makes me want to work harder. I am anxiously awaiting the release of the independent film The September Issue.

Karl Lagerfeild: He is not afraid of his originality and he inspires me to be unashamed of being odd. Also one of my favorite quotes come from him, "I get inspired when I'm working."



Martha Stewart: Martha is another amazing woman who is often thought of as cold but I am going to defend her here and say that just like Anna she knows what she wants. There are so many facets to her brand but they are all tied together so nicely.



Emily Martin: I am really so amazed by this girl. She has done a fantastic job of branding herself. Everything from the theme of her latest paintings to her antique ultra feminine style reflects her vision. She is a hard worker but she is also a very smart worker, making sure everything she makes counts.

Writing all of this is making me anxious to get back to work. ta ta.

pictures found here here and here

Surrounded

Sometimes I start a bunch a project's at once. Hopefully I will finish them soon so I can show you.

Weekend Forecast

I've been so busy with a bunch of little projects and the weeks just keep flying by. Hopefully I'll get a chance to relax this weekend with Mark.

• Make a pattern for a shirt I've been dreaming up
• Start a painting that I sketched out ages ago
• Possibly a trip to Disneyland (!!!)
• Make smores on the roof with our new grill
• Enjoy 80 degree weather (finally!)

p.s. the photo above is of the little monster I made at Craft night yesterday.

Best Ever Brownies

I was dragging my feet on making another batch of brownies after the first ones were just ok and the last ones completely flopped. I didn't even bother to post them. But this batch turned out perfect.

Rich fudgy center with a nice flaky top and ever so slightly chewy sides. Well, now I'm off to the gym ;)

* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat in cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.


Recipe via Angie

Summer Days

Mark and I initiated our new grill this weekend at MayJ's. We grilled burgers, ate chips, fresh strawberry's and May's delicious brownies. I was so full I felt like I might burst. I can't wait to make hobo burger, and smores, and corn on the cob, and kabobs, the list really just goes on and on.

Hang in There

I recently purchased this adorable "Hang in There" t-shirt from Mountain t shirts. It's possibly the cutest shirt in existence. Although the ten kittens shirt, also from Mountain t shirts, is pretty cute too. I'm wearing my new shirt with the skirt that I just finished. It turned out really nice. The zipper was a little tricky but the shape and length are perfect.

Weekend Forecast

We've had another busy week which flew by. I have been really getting into this sewing stuff. I'm almost done with a skirt that I will hopefully post this weekend along with the cutest t-shirt you'll ever see. It's finally getting warm here. It's a total myth that L.A. is warm all year round. It has been warmer in Ohio than here over the past couple months. But I digress. Here is the weekend forecast (not the weather type):

* Birthday party tonight for Mark's co-worker. I'm going to sew like crazy to finish the skirt in time for the party.

* Experiment in mixing the banana and chocolate chocolate chip muffins into banana muffins with chocolate chips. Could be good. Right?

* Make hobo burgers with my new bucket grill, which I got for my birthday :)

* Find a way to incorporate Debi's collage element into our own living space.

* Hang out with MayJ underneath their new balcony umbrella.

p.s. these puppies totally match our kitties! photo via flickr

Oh so romantic...

Lately I have been wishing for a darker space but I couldn't help but fall a little bit in love with Debi Treloar's house. I especially like the element of collage that appears on the walls and in her arrangement of objects. It's all very romantic.

Cat in the Bag

Oscar is the most needy cat I have ever encountered. She really wants to be carried everywhere and held constantly. Mark came up with this little trick last night so we could get some work done without neglecting her. I was laughing so hard because she really liked it... for the first 5 minutes.

Banana & Chocolate chocolate chip muffins

I may not be a believer in diet cake but I do believe in the benefits of whole wheat flour so I adjusted the original recipes for the Banana muffins and the Chocolate chocolate chip muffins. They turned out really good and tasted more like a true hearty breakfast muffin rather than a super sweet cake. I also added in just a tiny bit more fat so they wouldn't be dry.

Banana Muffin
3 Large bananas, mashed

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

Blend the mashed banana, sugar, egg and margarine together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Combine wet and dry mixtures all together. Do not over-stir! Pour into greased muffin pans, and bake in 350 degrees oven for approximately 20 minutes. Makes 6 jumbo muffins or 12 regular muffins.


Chocolate chocolate chip muffins
1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cocoa, sifted if lumpy

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flours, chocolate chips, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Create a well in the center.Beat egg in a small bowl. Add milk, cooking oil, and vanilla. Stir and pour into well. No not over mix!. Grease 12 muffin cups (or 6 jumbo) and fill cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes until golden.

The Blouse was a Bust

Pun intended. So I finished the blouse but it looks absolutely ridiculous on me. It's three sizes too large and the sleeves look like they are straight out of a circus. At least I can blame it on the pattern. I feel confident now to start altering the patterns to create more of what I want. I've started another skirt and then I am going to attempt to create a pattern for a blouse using my other patterns and what I've learned.

Rainbow Cake

I ditched the recipe I linked to in my weekly forecast because I realized it was diet cake and I don't believe in diet cake. I used a white cake mix and separated the batter into six equal parts. I used gel food coloring to make the muted rainbow. It's really easy to get the brighter colors with the gel dye but I'm just more partial to the pastels. Plus they matched the sprinkles. It turned out really cute. I'm going to make it again soon from scratch instead of the box mix. I'll let you know if it works out.